Doubles, Mixed

The return of the mixed doubles to the Olympic Games after a break of 88 years proved a godsend to Belarus doubles specialist Max Mirnyi. Despite being one of the leading lights in doubles for more than a decade and having six grand slam titles to his credit he had never won an Olympic medal due, in the main part, to a lack of another top level male doubles player from his own country to partner him at the Games. With the mixed event added to the Olympic programme he had the perfect opportunity to put matters straight and to form a team with the world’s top ranked female singles star Viktoriya Azarenko who herself was highly regarded at doubles. Although they were the top seeds they had an unfavourable draw but, after surviving a close semi-final against Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond of the USA, they duly booked their places in the final. Their opponents for the gold medal would be the wildcard British pairing of Andy Murray, an hour removed from his singles triumph, and former Wimbledon junior champion Laura Robson. The Britons had been forced to dig deep through three matches decided by the champions tie-break format to contest the final. Crowd excitement rose as the Britons led by a set and a break but Mirnyi and Azarenko fought back to level and kept their nerve in a tense tie-break to win 10-8 and earn a first Olympic tennis title for their nation.